Taxpayers around the country should not have to bail out Democrat-led state and local governments, including New York, for their failed policies. Yet, this was the main priority of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and what caused the stalemate over another round of coronavirus relief legislation in Congress last week.
Think about it — why should taxpayers from around the country be forced to balance the books of those areas that have enacted fiscally irresponsible policies for years, and pay for the ongoing repairs caused by rioters allowed to inflict their chaos by Democratic mayors and governors?
Until these officials implement some fiscal sanity and allow law enforcement to do their jobs, they will continue to bear a financial burden, including from a reduced tax base because of fleeing families. In fact, a recent story in the New York Post reported how this is happening on the Upper West Side in Manhattan because a sense of lawlessness has taken over the neighborhood. Even worse, one only has to look at all of the the moving trucks around to see that this mass exodus is happening throughout our city.
The GOP-controlled Senate held their ground and did not give in to the demand of Pelosi and House Democrats that all taxpayers should have to pay for the incompetence and irresponsibility of some elected executives. As a result, the president signed executive orders to provide more relief to Americans suffering due to the pandemic.
Specifically, Trump’s actions will provide a “payroll tax holiday” until the end of the year putting more money in the pockets of Americans making less than $100,000 annually. They will also halt payments and interests for many student loans, extend the moratorium on home evictions, and continue unemployment benefits. All of these measures should have been logical components of legislation designed to help Americans struggling directly because of the coronavirus devastation.
Instead, Democrats focused on bailing out states and cities that are in a deeper financial hole because of their own past and current failed policies.
As usual, Gov. Andrew Cuomo led the pack in hypocrisy and double standards when he attacked the president for signing these executive orders because the act bypassed Congress.
Yet, as Staten Island GOP Councilman Joe Borelli noted, “Everything the state is doing on Covid is an executive order… his orders… and unlike Trump his party has a majority in both houses.”
Cuomo’s edicts include telling bars and restaurants what types of food they must serve with alcohol to prevent getting shut down. Yet, he has the gall to criticize the president for issuing executive orders that actually help people.
Democrats may choose to file lawsuits to block the president’s executive orders. If they do, it will hand a political victory to Trump as they would be blocking needed assistance to struggling Americans.
Bob Capano has worked for Brooklyn Republican and Democrat elected officials, and has been an adjunct political science professor for over 15 years. Follow him on twitter @bobcapano.
